Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe - Christmas Show

One of the most important of our family Christmas traditions is the Stuart McLean Christmas show. While we loved the intimate setting of Convocation Hall, vs the Sony Centre, if you can get seats in the front section (book really early, folks), then its almost as good.

This year's show featured two new stories, one old favourite, a really lovely vignet of the perfect Christmas Carol mixed tape. And a very contemporary expidition of Dave with his now adult daughter. It's incredible how Stuart McLean can continue to come up with new ways for Dave to embarass his family in his bumbling, lovable way.

A favourite of the show is also the musical talent showcased, some old and some new. We were treated to amazing performances from a 17 year old contest winner and Reid Jamieson, a recent winner for his own composition. We brought home his CD and Jerusalem, the new CD of classical Christmas carols from the piano player. The Vinylettes, 3 lovely ladies, mesmerized with their beautiful voices.

If you don't know who Stuart McLean is, I strongly encourage you to tune into CBC on Sunday late mornings and listen in to the Vinyl Cafe. Maybe we'll see you at the Christmas show next year!

RSGC - The Tempest

The RSGC and BSS Drama students ambitiously tackled William Shakespeare's "The Tempest". While the dialogue is challenging to learn and deliver, it is equally challenging for the audience to understand and follow. For those that hadn't boned up with their "coles notes", the story was a little harder to follow. Also, the music sometimes drowned out the actors.

Notwithstanding, the students did an amazing job of mastering the dialogue, the drunken sailors were very authentic (hmmmmm ....), the love birds were endearing, the fairy was charming and Prospero was deliciously manipulative.

The score was written by the conductor (a grade 11 student) and was awesome and beautifully executed by the band.

Bravo to the actors and the musicians.

National Geographic - Robert Ballard: Adventures in Deep Sea Exploration

Robert Ballard wanted to explore the seas, like his hero Captain Nemo, from a very young age. At 70, he still exudes the passion and excitement you would expect from that teenager.

With a zest for "going where no man has gone before on planet earth", he is as committed to deep sea exploration as he is to developing this passion in students. He has built an incredible network of command posts to provide the world's top experts at the scene within 30 minutes of a discovery. He is embedding student programs across science centres, museums and schools.

Ballard pioneered innovative approaches to exploration through robotics and to sharing of these results through real time transmission via television studios at the beginning. He is now fully leveraging the power of the internet. He has definitely not been left behind by technology.

This is a great segment to share with your budding scientist, but be prepared for a big bill as he/she will need masters and doctoral level degrees in engineering, math, geology, ....

CanStage - Ignorance

Ignorance takes you on a journey in search of happiness. Are you happy, what makes you happy? Alternating between miserable old folks, as suggested by their scowling countenances, and a prehistoric lovestruck couple, we watch them struggle and survive. This is particularly poignant as the characters are puppets. The modern day puppets rely on the puppetmaster for their arms and legs. The prehistoric puppets are very crude, but strangely endearing. There are some crude scenes - this is definitely not for the sensitive, but I enjoyed it and recommend you give it a try.

A Bat Mitzvah

Our family was invited to a bat mitzvah on Sat eve and it was an awesome celebration. Set in a New York theme, the guests were treated to a Saturday Night Live in New York. Rocking all night to a DJ and dance troupe, who expertly led everyone in the latest dance moves, the crowd was on their feet all night. The young adults loved the DJ and significantly outlasted the parents - we had to pry them off the dance floor. For many of the young crowd, this was their first big party and the guest of honour made it a very special night for everyone.

Acting Up Stage Company - Tapestries

The music of Carole King and James Taylor.

Sorry - this just did not work for me. The arrangements were too far off the mark for my taste. They were more jazz like, it often felt that the band and the vocalists were not doing the same number. There were no melodies in the music and, while the percussionist was very good, there was a bit too much of it.

The vocalists on their own were quite good, with some standout performances from Kelly Holiff, Sterling Jarvis and Arlene Duncan. But the harmonies didn't always work with the voice combos used. One jazz vocalist in particular did not seem in the right place.

Perhaps I am not really a Carole King or James Taylor fan as, unfortunately, this arrangement did not suit my tastes, nor that of my companion. We couldn't wait to escape, although the audience did give a resounding applause ...

Off Mirvish - Terminus

A very clever show - a series of interconnected monologues presented on a small section of the stage, barely big enough for the actor to fill.

In fact, the entire audience was on the stage of the Royal Alex. With stadium style seating set up for an intimate crowd of 200, facing out towards the audience seating, with the actors standing on the precipice, seemingly always just one brief misstep away from plunging off the edge. As a matter of fact, we keep waiting for this to happen, as though that is why we are organized this way.

We follow the lives of a young girl, her mother, her friends, her true love, as they grapple with the consequences of jealousy, love and hate. The dialogue is ambitious and expertly delivered. Even the surreal bits are enthralling. Some of the rhyming bits feel like Dr. Seuss, but in a totally genuine and charming way.

This first show in the Off Mirvish series did not disappoint. I can't wait for the next !